Things can great pretty twisted out in the middle of nowhere, especially if a person isn’t ready to face up to the facts of the world they live in and act accordingly. But then again, living in isolation, with no children and only sheep around for company, it does feel as though twisted would be par for the course since there’s no way of knowing how the environment, the company, or lack of it, and any other factors would affect a human being. But when a childless couple decides to raise an unnatural lamb they find in their sheep barn things start to happen that they don’t fully comprehend. From the looks of things a large group of sheep begins to follow them about, and almost appear to be intent on the lamb. From the start of the trailer to the end one can get the kind of vibe that tells them that eventually, there will be trouble of some sort. It’s vague to the point of thinking that it might not be that bad, but as the trailer goes along it gives off almost the same feeling as The Witch, but with obvious differences for equally obvious reasons.
Movies set in the middle of nowhere like this tend to be some of the most potentially terrifying or at least disturbing movies that one can imagine, simply because the isolation makes things that much worse. But adding in animals that have some sort of devious or nefarious purpose only tends to make things worse since like it or not, animals can be cast in a rather disturbing light that doesn’t help to make them look innocent or docile at all. When it comes to sheep, many people might think that they’re harmless, they can’t possibly be aggressive. They eat, they grow, they’re shorn for wool and then kept around to keep producing wool and then perhaps, later on, become a food source. But the point is, they don’t appear to be dangerous at all.
But in a movie such as this, there’s a good chance that the innocence that they appear to have is deceptive, or is non-existent and only in the minds of those that think they’re in control. It’s hard to tell really since looking at the trailer there’s not much else to say other than it’s spine-tingling thanks to the way it’s been set up, and the way it’s been delivered. Movies like this tend to make the skin crawl, at least with some people, and also make it clear that something really bad or really confusing is going to happen. Or perhaps it will be both, one can never tell until the final image hits their eyes and either slaps them into a state of shock or reminds them that when it comes to movies their expectations and biases don’t mean anything. Of course, there’s always the chance that it’s going to leave us with a slack jaw wondering what in the hell just happened and whether we’re supposed to be frightened or say ‘ahh, aha!’. Movies like this definitely make a person think, but this could be why some folks don’t like them, especially since the cerebral type of horror and suspense doesn’t do as much for some people as it does for others.
Some might call this ‘thinking person’s horror’ and unlike the bloody, over the top horror that so many love, this feels like something that’s meant to tap dance on the spine with icicles while trying to jog the mind as to how many different possibilities there could be that will spring into action at any moment without the audience being aware of their presence until it’s too late. That might sound like a lot of work for a movie, but at the same time, it carries so much emotion and feeling in it that some people can’t really cope with the idea and don’t even want to bother. From putting animals in the movie to creating a story in the middle of nowhere to saying everything without saying hardly anything, such movies are a challenge to a lot of people that don’t often get a great deal of applause from a general audience since it is intended for a niche audience.
If the general public gets into a movie such as this it’s not exactly because they get every nuance of the movie, but instead because they’re more or less influenced by those around them that want to share in the experience. In terms of the movie, it looks like a mind-bender to be certain, but it also looks like something that people will have to pay attention to in order to really understand, or they might end up getting lost and will say that it wasn’t that great. It looks creepy as hell, to be honest, so I’m in.
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